South Side
by pipster
Summary: Sato and Cutler are kidnapped while on an away mission to retrieve artifacts belonging to the Andorians.
1. Prologue

Title: South Side   
  
Author: Pip   
  
Rating: R   
  
Codes: all, S, C   
  
Beta: Allie   
  
Summary: Angst. Hoshi and Cutler are captured after trying to retrieve Andorian artifacts from a hostile planet.   
  
Prologue   
  
Hoshi poised, readying her bow and arrow as she narrowed her eyes to focus only on the target ahead. She let go of the arrow as she breathed out, watching it fly through the air just as she saw it do in her mind a second before.   
  
Lowering the bow, she watched as the alien several meters ahead of her slumped to the leafy ground. She closed her dark eyes and sighed. She placed the bow at her side and pushed her messy hair out of her face. She turned around, surprised to find no sign of the rest of the away team.   
  
Hoshi heard a crash and turned back just as an arrow hit her arm. She yelped in pain and then slumped over as the drug hit her blood stream.   
  
***   
  
They beamed aboard Enterprise in a rush. Archer and Trip looked around them quickly before stepping off the padd.   
  
"I told ya to wait fer her!" Trip raised his voice.   
  
"We couldn't wait any longer. They got Cutler, too, Trip. I didn't want to just leave them, but we had too. We'll come back for them," Archer said.   
  
Malcolm rushed into the transporter room and noticed two members were missing from the away team.   
  
"Why isn't Cutler and Sato with you?" Malcolm shot out.   
  
Archer sighed, "We'll get them back" and brushed past the armory officer.   
  
"He left 'em," Trip said, glaring.   
  
"They caught both of them..." he trailed off, as he left the transporter room at a near-run.   
  
***   
  
Archer hated leaving them behind. He had no idea what would happen to Sato and Cutler, but would damn well make sure T'Pol used every bit of her vaunted Vulcan intelligence to find his missing crewmembers.   
  
He braced himself for the worst as he entered the bridge and headed straight for his science officer.   
  
"T'Pol, can you get a lock on Sato and Cutler?" the captain asked, concern clearly etched on every line of his face.   
  
Pressing a few buttons, T'Pol came up with her findings.   
  
"I am sorry captain, they have already been taken underground," the Vulcan replied.   
  
"Dammit!" Archer yelled as he clenched his fists. "Keep tracking them, I want you to beam them up the second you can."   
  
"The aliens will most likely go to the trees soon after taking Sato and Cutler. They usually do when they believe they are safe once again," T'Pol replied, trying to reassure the captain. "They will want to keep the prisoners close by."   
  
Archer nodded and made his way to his ready room to try and figure out a way to get his people back. 


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One   
  
Archer thought about the bows and arrows they used on the previous mission to retrieve the Andorian artifacts. The Tralki used them because their ancestors had and they were a symbol of remembrance. Though the Tralki had warp drive and explored their region of space, they still used the primitive weapons as they thought a sign of strength for remembering those before them.   
  
The Enterprise senior staff was lined up behind the long table on the Andorian ship: Trip, T'Pol, Archer, Malcolm, and Hoshi, whose linguist skills automatically included her in the group.   
  
Captain Archer shook his head at the plan Shran placed before him. It wouldn't work; they needed to look at this diplomatically.   
  
"We have to use brute force!" the blue alien shoved the PADD into Archer's hands again. "They don't understand anything other than brute force. We need to go to their level!"   
  
"Shran, I don't see it. We need to try to be diplomatic about it," Archer replied.   
  
The Andorian shook his head, slammed his fist down on the table as he stood up to pace the room. He was mumbling at first, but soon raised his voice to a shout.   
  
"We need to do it my way, Captain Archer! We did it diplomatic months ago before we asked for your help. Then we did it half-and-half. This time, it's my way," Shran became manically sure of himself. "We go in, demand the release of the artifacts and the prisoners. If they don't give us either, we'll attack them and force them to do so. Then we leave with what we came for!"   
  
"No..no, Shran, you don't see it. There's a flaw in your plan. When they send their ships after us, what will we do?"   
  
A crazy look formed in the blue skin¹s eyes. "Their ships are nowhere near as advanced as ours or the Enterprise, for that matter. They have warp three, light shields and type-one phasers."   
  
"Type-one phasers?" Reed asked, butting in as he sat at the table.   
  
"They're less advanced then your phase cannons. We can take them," Shran said, sensing an ally.   
  
"I'd say those are good odds, sir," Reed told the captain.   
  
Closing his eyes, the captain thought about it. He didn't see it working the way he wanted it to. He didn¹t want to risk more lives than he needed too. They had probably harmed more Tralki than they needed to already. Earth didn¹t need a war this far away from home.   
  
"Mr. Reed," Archer started to say but then he bit his tongue. He didn't need to say anything to Malcolm; he was right about the odds.   
  
"Are we going to do this or not?" Trip asked, thumbing the cool table in frustration.   
  
Shran clenched his teeth and fists; annoyed that Archer was dragging out his answer this long. They needed to act now!   
  
"Let's go!" Archer announced, still apprehensive about the decision.   
  
Shran let out a laugh and slammed his hands on the table. It was decided. They would take this on the offensive.   
  
***** 


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two   
  
Hoshi clenched her bruised and bloodied fists, opening her tear-filled eyes in response to the soft noise. She couldn't move very well, so she asked the noise a question.   
  
"Is someone there?" Hoshi rasped.   
  
A gasp, followed by a large gulp of air and a soft "Hoshi" gave the injured ensign some hope for the first time in days   
  
Hoshi cried out. Tears poured down her face as she felt around in front of her and stumbled across someone else's ratted hair.   
  
"Liz?" Hoshi gasped.   
  
They could hardly see each other in the dark, their vision already blurred because of the drugs being pumped into their bodies.   
  
"We gotta hang on, Hoshi," the young crewman said to her friend.   
  
Hoshi gulped and held back the tears, trying to regain some composure.   
  
"Fight it, we have to." Liz whispered.   
  
The pain was everywhere: in her gut, in her head and in her soul. She didn't know if she could do it, but she would try.   
  
***   
  
Archer's team met with the Andorians for a final briefing before the attack began.   
  
They already had data on the tree compounds. But nothing was known about the most likely location to house prisoners - the underground areas - because of heavy shielding.   
  
"Captain, it would be foolish for them to bring Ensign Sato and Crewman Cutler to the trees," Malcolm pointed out. "Although they are heavily guarded, they are not shielded."   
  
"Where are these tree forts?" Archer asked.   
  
"The south side of the planet consists of very intricately designed tree fortresses," T'Pol explained.   
  
"It should be easy though, right?" Shran asked.   
  
T'Pol raised an eyebrow in response to the simplistic question.   
  
"We need to disguise ourselves better if we hope to get anywhere near easy," Malcolm said rather coldly to Shran.   
  
"It would be a good idea," Archer agreed in an even tone.   
  
"I agree," Shran added. "Where will we beam down?"   
  
"This is the most logical location to beam down to without being seen," T'Pol answered, pointing to a southeast location on the long sheet of paper.   
  
No one spoke again for several minutes as the group carefully studied the information before them.   
  
"I can almost smell the artifacts!" Shran said with glee.   
  
Archer furrowed his brow at the almost-maniacal tone in Shran's voice. He still clung to the hope that they could avoid a bloodbath, but that hope was dwindling fast. It looked like there was no way to do this without at least a few people dying. 


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three   
  
The hike their alien captors made them take was hard, especially with the light blinding their eyes.   
  
But Hoshi and Liz had more on their minds then just their sore muscles and sensitive eyes. They had decided that now was the time to try and outsmart their attackers while they were above ground.   
  
Hoshi understood the alien language without a translation device, but Liz could not. So it was up to the linguist to decide when the time was right to make a break for it. They would act when Hoshi said "jetzt," which is German for "now." Liz liked the plan, but then to her any plan was a good one.   
  
Hoshi breathed heavily walking up the hill to the tree they would have to climb. Their captures were discussing what to do with the Andorian artifacts. The rare items would bring a high price at an auction on another world.   
  
While Hoshi didn't know the name of the world they were on, she did know one thing: these bulky, ugly aliens were proud of themselves and laughed at their capture.   
  
Then Liz and Hoshi's execution was discussed and Hoshi knew it was now or never because soon they would be forced up the tree.   
  
The linguist eyed her friend, who looked at her in return.   
  
"Jetzt," Hoshi said.   
  
Liz shoved over one of the guards and drove her bony elbow in his neck. The alien screamed itself breathless. Hoshi jumped the other captor, and Liz helped her. They punched, elbowed, bit and scratched; anything to incapacitate their much larger foe.   
  
Arrows swooshed by the two just before the large alien passed out. Hoshi and Liz looked up, fresh blood already forming on their ragged uniforms. There was a group several meters away with bows and arrows. Hoshi shoved Liz, motioning her to run like hell.   
  
Nodding, Liz ran with Hoshi just behind her. They made it to the bottom of the hill just as the arrows pierced their arms and legs. The Starfleet officers tried to keep running and yelled in frustration as the fell to the dirt and their world turned black.   
  
***   
  
Travis, Malcolm, T'Pol, Shran, and some of Shran's people surveyed the area before trying to locate Hoshi and Liz's whereabouts.   
  
"I have two human bio-signs in the trees above," T'Pol reported.   
  
"What sort of shape are they in?" Travis asked, worried about his friends.   
  
"They are in poor condition. I read fractured bones, dehydration and malnutrition," she answered succinctly   
  
"Damn, those aliens really put them through hell," Malcolm mumbled.   
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if they are planning their execution as we speak and waste time," Shran said, annoyed at how long this was taking.   
  
"I believe you are correct, we will inform Captain Archer that we are ready to be beamed to the tree forts," T'Pol agreed.   
  
"What if it doesn't work?" Malcolm asked, hesitant about using the transporter.   
  
"We'll fall," Travis said. "It's worked every time we've used it. It worked beaming us to the planet's surface, so it should work this time."   
  
Malcolm wasn't sure if he was reassured. He didn't relish the idea of falling hundreds of meters. 


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four   
  
"At least it's good food," Hoshi mumbled to Liz in-between bites.   
  
Cutler shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.   
  
"Yeah, even we lowly women get food like the men the day before our execution," the blonde replied sarcastically.   
  
Hoshi looked at it as a way to regain their strength and successfully escape this time around. Liz looked somewhat better than before, but was still in worse shape than Hoshi.   
  
They talked about the artifacts they planned on retrieving, speaking in French to avoid detection by the Tralki. As far as Hoshi knew, the Tralki had not figured out French. Liz had learned French in high school but was a bit rusty. It didn't matter too much; Hoshi made sure she understood. There was just too much at stake not to.   
  
Shran had told them before the mission that the missing artifacts included a mask and some jewelry. Liz decided they should look for the artifacts before slipping off into the night. And that was exactly what they planned to do.   
  
***   
  
Hoshi motioned for Liz to tread lightly as they eased past the still-sleeping guard.   
  
The two women snuck around the camp in the trees and found the hut housing the artifacts. They thought it strange there was no door to keep anyone from walking away with the treasure. It was even better that the guard inside was slumped over and sleeping like a baby.   
  
Liz put the items in a bag and passed it over to Hoshi. They tiptoed around like mice trying to avoid a sleeping cat until they were far away from the hut.   
  
When they came to the rope ladder, they climbed down it as quietly as possible. Staring out into the night, they hoped for the darkness to last as long as possible and cover their escape.   
  
***   
  
"We are in the trees, captain," Sub-commander T'Pol briskly reported before ending the transmissions.   
  
T'Pol, Reed and Mayweather headed to the area that they had located the missing crewmembers, making sure they didn't make any noise to stir the camp. As they neared the location, T'Pol scanned for Ensign Sato and Crewman Cutler.   
  
"They are not in the trees anymore," she whispered to the other two.   
  
Reed quietly contacted the ship and had them beamed out of the trees. They couldn't risk leaving the noisier way.   
  
***   
  
The two women desperately tried to hold back their cries of pain as they ran through trees and bushes to put as much distance as possible between them and their captors. They continued their breakneck pace for a long time, all-the-while looking for somewhere they could hide.   
  
The finally found an area that they could hide in until help arrived. 


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five   
  
There was a bright light in Hoshi's face. At first she thought she was back in the trees and then maybe in an open meadow. Someone touched her and she fought them off, kicking and screaming. She couldn't see properly and felt a bit of pain.   
  
"Liz! They got us!" Hoshi yelled.   
  
"Hoshi!" Trip shouted, touching her bruised face.   
  
The lights dimmed and Hoshi could see much better now. She was in sickbay on a medical bed. Liz was across from her, groaning in pain. Trip was standing over her with a damp cloth, whipping the crusty blood from her face and body. She was no longer in her torn uniform but her tank top and underwear. Hoshi groaned at the thought.   
  
"It's okay, Hosh," Trip said, removing the rest of the blood. "Yer safe. Yer all right, darlin‚. No one here to mess with ya. We got the artifacts from ya and it's gonna be okay. Kay?"   
  
Hoshi nodded, drowning in his accent. She mentally kicked herself. What the hell was she thinking? This is the commander. She then pinched herself, receiving a confused look from Trip.   
  
"Ya sure she's gonna be okay, doc?" Trip asked, turning to face Phlox who had approached Ensign Cutler.   
  
The Denobulan looked up from his other patient and smiled. "Of course. She's just having side-effects from the drugs I gave her for the pain."   
  
Trip nodded and then glanced back at Hoshi, who was now dreamily smiling. The confused look returned to the commander's face.   
  
"Doc?" Trip asked.   
  
Phlox chuckled, "She may act a bit irrational and even her true feelings may shine through. The drugs make you quite easy to get along with."   
  
Trip placed a blanket on the ensign and rubbed her arm reassuringly. He didn't pretend to understand women.   
  
*****  
  
"They're both in sickbay, and here are your artifacts," Archer said, sighing as he handed Shran the cloth bag containing the artifacts.   
  
Shran's face lit up like a little boy in a candy store. He recklessly opened the bag and reached his hand in, pulling out a huge necklace adorned with red, gold, and brown beads. On the necklace hung a gold pendant of a frightening face with its tongue sticking out. The necklace looked ancient.   
  
Shran placed it on the table and pulled out the next item, a mask with the same face on it. There were no holes for the mouth, eyes and nose. Shran carefully placed the heavy gold mask on the table.   
  
He smiled as he pulled the rest of the jewelry out and laid it by the mask and necklace.   
  
"Thank you very much, Captain Archer," Shran replied and stood up to shake his hand.   
  
Archer nodded and then felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was too easy. They had retrieved the items way too easily, and there seemed to be something more to these artifacts. Archer wasn't sure what it was, but something didn't seem right.   
  
A relieved-looking Trip entered the room and approached Archer and Shran.   
  
"Sir, they're both doin' okay. Hosh says they were gonna kill 'em today, like an hour ago," Trip explained. "Good thing we got 'em outta there just in time, huh?"   
  
"It's a very good thing," Archer said, distracted.   
  
"Send them my thanks!" Shran yelled out as Trip left the room.   
  
Standing outside the room, Trip decided something was going on. Archer seemed incredibly distracted for just having completed the mission and saving his two crewmembers. Trip brushed the puzzle aside and headed for engineering. 


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six   
  
Shran paced his quarters on his ship. He fingered each of the artifacts, grinning evilly to himself. He carefully scrutinized every piece and began to laugh almost manically. One after the other, he continued his examination of his precious artifacts. Afterward, he sat down at the table they were lying on and tapped his blue fingers, laughing some more.   
  
"Captain Archer was a fool to ever believe these belonged to the Andorians. They will fetch a high price back home," Shran laughed.   
  
***   
  
The priest ran around, frantically searching for the artifacts high and low, in cabinets and under tables. He cradled his dark face in his hands and tried not to cry.   
  
"This is terrible! Awful!" he shrieked and ran out of the hut.   
  
Panic ensued as soon as word got out about the missing treasures. Knowing how their king would react to the news, people frantically tried to find places to hide. They didn't care when a woman was shoved to the ground, writhing in pain as she was trampled over by her own people. A few minutes later, the only visible person was the woman, lying motionless on the ground.   
  
The priest left the treasure room and looked about for his king.   
  
"Highness!" he yelled out.   
  
A much larger man appeared from a nearby hut. He glared at the little priest and then the woman on the ground.   
  
"If she's alive, take her out of the street," he told someone who happened to peer out of another hut. "If she's dead, throw her from the trees. We don't need to smell rotting flesh."   
  
The fearfully person did as he was told.   
  
"Priest?" the king asked the man across from him.   
  
"The artifacts…"   
  
The king's gold eyes seemed to flash as an unpleasant look settles across his already disgusting face. "Spit it out!"   
  
"They're missing."   
  
"So are the women," the king replied.   
  
Neither sounded gruff, for their voices were more like scratching nails on chalkboards. To humans the sound would be ear splitting, but to them it was normal.   
  
The king slowly walked up to him and flashed a shiny knife. He placed the knife alongside the priest's neck.   
  
"I suppose you have an explanation for losing the gems of mine."   
  
The priest only had time for one gulp before the king slit his throat. Blue blood oozed out of his neck and he fell to the ground. Then the king walked back to his hut.   
  
"Throw him over!" the king yelled to his subject, who had finally shoved the woman over the side.   
  
The onlooker gulped and followed orders.   
  
***   
  
Hoshi entered the bridge quietly and sat down at her post. She still had some bruising that was noticeable and she didn't think she would be the same ever again. All she wanted was to bring bodily harm against her attackers.   
  
Their contorted, dark faces swam through her mind like frightening clowns. Their screechy voices reminded her of a horrible childhood nightmare. Hoshi tried to shove them out of her mind as she realized her name was being called.   
  
She looked over at who made the sound. It was Captain Archer, who also had a hand on her shoulder and was giving her a comforting look. Hoshi could drown in the concern from the number of people who cared for her. It was a wonderful feeling.   
  
"We won't be able to attack them, you know that, right?" he asked.   
  
The thought didn't comfort the linguist.   
  
"But Captain, they're evil, terrible people," she argued.   
  
"I know, but we can't afford a confrontation, Ensign."   
  
Captain Archer just lost major brownie points, Hoshi thought to herself.   
  
Hoshi gave him a searching look, her dark eyes pleading. He sighed and lowered his head.   
  
"What do you think about the artifacts?"   
  
"They're neither native to the aliens nor to the Andorians."   
  
Archer was taken aback. "How do you know?"   
  
"I got a good look at them captain. They don't belong to either race. They both had to have stolen them or the Tralk found them on some sort of expedition," Hoshi explained. "I'd rather the Andorians have them."   
  
"We've got to figure out who the real owners are," Archer replied. "And if it wasn't for the Andorians' lies we would have never come here in the first place."   
  
Hoshi turned around just as he was going to walk away and grabbed his hand. She shook her head.   
  
"If we go back there, I want to go and I want us to bring phase pistols," she said very coldly.   
  
Archer nodded but gave her a warning.   
  
"This isn't about revenge ensign, remember that," he said sternly. "You are a Starfleet officer first and Hoshi Sato second." 


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven   
  
The away team beamed to the planet and surveyed the area, making sure they were safe. Lieutenant Reed was especially on guard, given the fact that they already had been in hostile situations with the aliens. Travis kept an eye on Hoshi; he knew she was out for revenge. And so was Malcolm; Captain Archer had told him to watch out for her.   
  
Hoshi knew that the two men were watching her closely and she didn't particularly care. She would do what she needed to do.   
  
***   
  
Earlier:   
  
Captain Archer paced his small quarters and spoke privately to Malcolm before he called Travis in about the away mission.   
  
"I need you to watch out for Hoshi. She wants to get back at the Tralki who abused her and Ensign Cutler," Archer ordered.   
  
Malcolm questioned allowing Hoshi back on the planet.   
  
"If she's feeling vengeful, then why send her on the mission to figure out who really owns the artifacts?"   
  
Archer sighed and leaned against his desk.   
  
"She personally asked me, I wasn't going to turn her down. She works well when she's under pressure," he said. "Her language skills might also come in handy."   
  
"That seems reasonable, sir," Malcolm answered.   
  
"I reminded her that she is a Starfleet officer first, so I need you to watch out for her. I don¹t want Hoshi to go gung-ho on everyone. This is a diplomatic mission."   
  
"Diplomatic, sir?" Malcolm questioned. "These people aren¹t the diplomatic type."   
  
Archer held up his hand as he called for Travis to come in and join the conversation.   
  
"I was just telling Lieutenant Reed that this is a diplomatic mission first and foremost, we only use force if the team¹s safety is in question."   
  
"Well, we've only gotten to see their angry side. We came to their planet to take something away from them," Travis said. "Maybe they will be more reasonable if we let them know we were deceived."   
  
"We don¹t know much about the Tralki. We know the artifacts didn¹t originally come from them and that they are violent and mistreat their women," Archer said "But that's all we know about them."   
  
Travis gave Captain Archer a curious look.   
  
"But didn't they steal the artifacts?" he asked.   
  
"We can't assume that, Ensign" Malcolm said rather briskly. "I am more concerned with their propensity for violence."   
  
Travis nodded. He agreed.   
  
They spoke for a while longer about what the mission entailed and then Malcolm and Travis were dismissed. They would be leaving with Hoshi within the hour.   
  
***   
  
Now:   
  
It didn't take long for the away team to get the attention of the Tralki. A group of five came down from their tree houses and soon had the three-member away team surrounded.   
  
"We come in peace," Lieutenant Reed said as a greeting. "We just want to know who the artifacts belong to."   
  
One of the aliens looked the group over and then answered, "We will not speak to a female." He pointed to Hoshi with a gangly finger, his crooked yellow nail seeming to impale the linguist.   
  
"She won't speak then," Malcolm replied. "I will be doing the speaking and you can speak for your group. Deal?"   
  
The alien nodded, knowing his shrill voice bothered the delicate ears of the humans.   
  
"So whom do the artifacts belong to?" Malcolm asked.   
  
The Tralki shoved his finger toward himself. "Us," he breathed.   
  
Hoshi elbowed Travis, who then in turn elbowed Malcolm.   
  
"How is that possible?" Malcolm coughed, rubbing his gut. Travis gave him an apologetic look. "We know they are not native to your culture."   
  
"We found them on a dig in the caves," the alien replied.   
  
The rest of the aliens nodded in agreement.   
  
"We came to this area fifty years ago. Dug in the caves and found the artifacts."   
  
"Are they from your ancestors?"   
  
The Tralki lowered his head in almost a shameful manner and shook it. He was about to speak up when someone else came down from the trees. He was dressed ornately, unlike the other five. The away team identified him as the king of these people. Hoshi clutched the butt of her phase pistol, which was still holstered.   
  
"Humans!" the king screeched.   
  
The away team grasped their ears in pain.   
  
"What do they want?" the king asked, drawing his knife. Malcolm shook his head, letting his team know not to draw their weapons just yet.   
  
"They wish to be diplomatic with us. They now know the artifacts don't belong to the Andorians."   
  
"We also are going behind the Andorians' backs. We haven't discussed out findings with them because we wanted your side of the story first."   
  
"There was a time when my people used our technology against those who used to inhabit this area of the planet. When we found out that they were no match for us and they just wished to preserve their people, it was too late," the king replied and then pointed to his face. "They poisoned us, causing us to look like we do."   
  
The away team stepped back. This was a lot of information in one moment.   
  
"What happened to them?" Malcolm asked   
  
"They told us to treat our women with respect!" he sneered. "They do not deserve to be equal! Then they told us they would harm us more, so we bombed them."   
  
Travis and Hoshi exchanged startled looks. Malcolm merely inclined his head.   
  
"It was over one hundred years ago," the king said almost sadly.   
  
"We wiped them out," the Tralki nearest to the king said. "There are only the artifacts left of their culture now."   
  
"What about the Andorians?" Travis spoke up.   
  
"I thought that one was the only one of you to speak," the Tralki asked, pointing a finger at Malcolm.   
  
Travis shrugged; Malcolm gave him an authoritative glare.   
  
"The Andorians came here looking for treasures and that is what they found," the king replied.   
  
Travis watched Malcolm and the king discuss the situation. The Tralki destroyed an ancient civilization and the Andorians wanted their belongings for money. So did the Tralki. They were both equal scoundrels in Travis' mind.   
  
Hoshi thought otherwise. She couldn¹t help but glare at the Tralki the entire time they had been there. At least the Andorians didn¹t kill a group of people in revenge just because they retaliated when attacked and then told the invaders they had no morals. As far as the linguist was concerned, they hadn¹t changed their ways since   
  
Malcolm picked up his comm, about ready to ask to be beamed up, when the king interrupted his motion.   
  
"Wait! Give us back the artifacts!" he cried out, causing the away team to grasp their ears once again.   
  
"We have to discuss this with our captain and then we will talk to you again," Malcolm replied.   
  
The king again brandished his knife, while his people drew their guns. When the Tralki grinned, their revoltingly yellow teeth showed.   
  
"You will stay here until the artifacts are returned," the king replied, "or we will kill you where you stand."   
  
Malcolm's only reply to the king was a quick nod of his head. 


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight  
  
Archer sighed, looking at the viewscreen, wondering when the away team would make contact. They still had a few minutes before they were to call back, Malcolm said he would call back early if they had not run into trouble. Archer thumbed his chin; this was not good. Had they run into problems? Did the Tralki imprison them? Where was his team?   
  
The captain shifted his body to ask Crewman Marlon about the away team.   
  
Marlon knew he was going to be asked that question. "They are still at the same coordinates. There are six Tralki in front of them, sir."   
  
"Thank you, crewman," Archer answered.   
  
Marlon nodded and returned to his work. The captain made him nervous.   
  
"Sub-commander, what do you suggest?"   
  
T'Pol raised her eyebrow as she looked up from her post. "I suggest we wait until they contact us."   
  
Archer sighed. He hated waiting.   
  
***   
  
The Tralki didn't know what hit them.   
  
Hoshi was the first to draw her phase pistol, since she already had it halfway out. She pointed and shot the king before he had the chance to follow through with his threat. The Tralki leader stumbled backward and fell over. The other Tralki looked on in shock.   
  
Malcolm and Travis followed suit and fired upon the others as they broke out of their trances and moved to attack. Malcolm hailed Enterprise as they made their escape.   
  
***   
  
"Sir, I'm getting a call from the away team," Crewman Marlon replied and then opened the channel.   
  
"Captain, we are under attack. Get us the hell out of here," Malcolm barked into the comm unit.   
  
Archer stood and looked over at T'Pol, "Beam them up!"   
  
"They are in decon now," T'Pol replied a few minutes later. "Dr. Phlox reports no outward signs of injury."   
  
Archer felt like slipping to his knees. The away team was back safe on board and no one had been left behind this time.   
  
***   
  
Hoshi had slipped to her knees in the decon chamber as she applied the sticky gel to her sweaty skin. Travis rubbed some of the gel onto her back and made sure she had it all over. Malcolm and Travis finished before Hoshi because she had been applying the gel to her skin much slower.   
  
Memories of her torture bombarded her mind. She shut her eyes and glimpses of the Tralki shock rods jolted her. Then she remembered the intoxicants they injected her with. The needles had been so long and they punctured her flesh harshly. The poisons swam through her blood stream, and her eyes had drooped. She felt sleepy, delusional, and finally anger that she could not defend herself.   
  
Being able to shoot the Tralki king gave her so much pleasure that it almost hurt.   
  
"You're free to go. I did not detect any organisms plaguing any of you," Dr. Phlox's singsong voice brought Hoshi back to the present.   
  
Hoshi looked up to see Commander Tucker and Captain Archer looking in on the away team with Phlox. They both looked concerned.   
  
The group left the decon chamber and entered the main area of sickbay. Phlox handed all three of them their uniforms and they put them on. The men discussed the mission they just returned from as Hoshi rubbed her eyes and listened.   
  
"You shot them?" Archer practically yelled.   
  
"There was no other choice, sir," Malcolm calmly replied.   
  
He had told the captain he had been the first to fire and Travis went along with it. Then he said Hoshi fired as Travis did. The captain bought it. Hoshi was amazed, she had not expected for the lieutenant to cover for her. Archer would not have been happy to know she had fired without being ordered to first.   
  
Archer decided it was time to contact the Andorians about their findings. They were still unclear as to what they would do. Archer did not think Enterprise had a place in the argument and it may be best to let them fend for themselves   
  
***   
  
Hoshi stopped Malcolm outside of the sickbay doors and pulled him away from the retreating group.   
  
"Why didn't you tell Captain Archer… " Hoshi's voice trailed off as Malcolm held up his hand.   
  
"There were three reasons why I didn't report you," he said sternly. "First, you waited until we were threatened before using your weapon. Second, I checked and the setting on your phase pistol was on stun."   
  
Hoshi gave Malcolm a grateful look   
  
"And the third?" she asked,   
  
Malcolm smiled.   
  
"That was damn good shooting, Ensign," he said as he turned and walked in the direction Tucker and Archer had gone. 


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine   
  
"You deliberately used us to get these artifacts and in the process endangered my entire crew, Shran!" Captain Archer yelled at the viewscreen image of the unrepentant Shran.   
  
"All for the greater good; these people do not deserve these priceless antiques! They have no care for their women who bare their young. They wiped out an entire civilization because they were so arrogant and prideful, Archer!" Shran yelled back. "Don't tell me you want me to give them back."   
  
The look on Shran's face grew angrier the more he thought about it.   
  
Archer gnawed on his thumb as he tried to figure a diplomatic way out of the situation the Andorian had put him in.   
  
"Just give them back," Archer said wearily. "The ship they are sending to collect the artifacts is old and of no threat to you. Please just give it all back and then go away."   
  
Shran nodded and replied, "I will have it beamed into space and they can collect it."   
  
"Thank you."   
  
Hoshi terminated the connection and then wanted to turn around and yell at Archer for letting the Tralki get what they wanted. She wanted to tear apart that world for all the evil they had done. You're a Starfleet officer first and Hoshi Sato second. The words repeated themselves over and over in her mind.   
  
Malcolm glanced up at Archer. "They've beamed the artifacts into space, Captain. The Tralki scout ship is approaching them."   
  
***   
  
"We've beamed them out, sir. The Tralki scout ship is approaching them," an Andorian officer informed Shran.   
  
"Charge weapons," Shran said furiously.   
  
***   
  
"Sir, the Andorians are charging their weapons!" Malcolm shouted.   
  
Archer jumped out of his chair but could only watch as the Andorians fired two shots at the artifacts.   
  
Archer looked out at the empty space where the priceless artifacts once floated. There was no debris left after the second blast. Nothing. It was as if the artifacts had never existed. At first Archer was astonished and then he became angry, perhaps even furious at Shran for double-crossing him.   
  
The Andorian vessel immediately went to warp as soon as the damage was done, disappearing as completely as the artifacts had done a second before.   
  
"Should we follow?" Travis began to ask before the ship went to warp. "I'm unable to follow them, sir. They're gone."   
  
"We are being hailed by the Tralki scout ship, sir," Hoshi said.   
  
Archer sighed and slumped back down into his seat. "Open a channel, Hoshi."   
  
Hoshi, biting her tongue to keep from arguing, reluctantly followed orders.   
  
"I thought you would be returning the artifacts!" an angry Tralki appeared on the viewscreen. "You have betrayed us! We wanted those back and you just watched as they fired upon them. You didn't even follow them…"   
  
Archer motioned for Hoshi to close the connection; she happily followed his order this time.   
  
"Connection closed, sir. They are sending subspace messages to us. Most of them just angry words and derogatory comments such as 'you stupid jackasses‚'" Hoshi said.   
  
"Take us to warp, Ensign Mayweather," Archer ordered. " I've had enough of the Tralki screeching and Andorians scheming for one week."   
  
"Aye, sir. Warp it is," Travis tapped in the orders on the console and flew them away from the source of Archer's throbbing headache.   
  
THE END 


End file.
